Trust Issues
by ChiefPam
Summary: After three months, Catherine finds Vincent, but he doesn't remember who she is ... and they still have to do something about Muirfield . COMPLETE 10/6/13 (just in time!)
1. Trust Me

**Trust Issues**

**by ChiefPam**

* * *

_This is fanfic for Beauty & the Beast (2012). They own it, I don't, I'm just borrowing their toys. This is based loosely on spoilers for Season 2, and will no doubt be an alternate universe as soon as October 7__th__, 2013 gets here, but I needed the emotional fix._

* * *

The nights were the worst. During the day, his bosses kept Vincent busy – training, working out, experimenting to find his limits, sometimes just talking with them. He'd been getting into more detailed discussions lately, about the ways he could be useful.

At night, though, when he was lying on his bed alone, he found himself yearning for something. Someone to take away the loneliness. He just didn't know what the something - or someone - was.

Muirfield had said that a mission had gone bad, leaving him amnesiac, but that they could fill in the gaps. They wanted him to a super agent for them, and that didn't seem like a bad thing to be. He just had to get better control over his inner beast. He was making progress, too.

They said that he had volunteered for the super soldier program, after his family had all died. That since then, his life had been focused; he had no contact with the outside world. That part seemed unlikely to him – it didn't seem healthy to give up your whole life for the sake of a research program. Maybe that had been his decision, for some reason, but it didn't feel right anymore.

He didn't enjoy the tests where they pushed him to change to the beast and then back, but he doubted he'd enjoyed boot camp, either. He knew he'd be a more valuable soldier if he could transform at will. They'd said he was getting a lot better at it, and he did feel like he was getting a handle on initiating the change. "Beasting out" he'd heard some of the techs call it, when they'd forgotten how preturnaturally good his hearing was. But coming back down from his altered state was a lot harder, and they still kept tranquilizer guns close at hand.

They hadn't said, but he was smart enough to know that even the tranquilizers were part of the testing, too; the effects seemed different each time, and they always wanted to know how he felt when he woke up. The other guys on the base were okay. None of them were too comfortable around him, though, and he couldn't blame them. He wanted other interaction - female interaction - but it wasn't safe.

Not that he had anywhere to go, anyway. He'd contemplated breaking out – with his enhanced abilities it would be easy. But there was no reason to. And then, what if he lost control of his inner monster while he was out there? Being out in the world when he transformed would be bad, without Muirfield there to protect and cover for him. Adrenaline triggered the changing process, he knew, and so anything exciting was a risk.

He rolled over onto his side. He couldn't chance harming civilians, and anyone who saw him would be terrified. He didn't want to face that. Or worse, they'd try to kill him. That would not end well for them, he knew. His beast was very good at self-defence, and any attackers would probably end up in shreds. Best to keep his differences – and himself – safe on the base.

Still, when he couldn't sleep and lay awake staring at the ceiling, he couldn't help feeling that he was missing something, or someone. Whatever it was, he thought it must be tremendously important; dwelling on it for too long would get the beast stirring. He just wished he could remember what it was.

SECTION BREAK

The nights were the worst. During the day, Catherine did her job, pulling up the energy to get through the day. She couldn't let Tess down; without Tess she'd have gone insane already. But every moment not spent on work was consumed by efforts to find Vincent. For three months, she'd had no luck, but she kept pushing.

She told herself that he had to be alive; Muirfield had taken him alive, therefore they wanted him alive, therefore he was still alive. She just had to find him. She would find him. But at night, lying alone in bed, she had to admit how shaky that logic chain was. They might have done anything to him, and the possibilities were too awful to contemplate closely.

Sometimes, her fear was that he was alive and free, but was keeping away from her, for her own good. He'd always wanted her to have a "normal" life. She'd told him, over and over, that he was a big part of her life, the best part of her life, but he hadn't been entirely convinced. "Vincent, if you're out there," she'd call out softly, trying not to cry. "My normal life is torture without you. Please come back to me." Then she'd hold her breath and listen, but her fire escape always remained deserted.

Other nights, she gave into her restlessness and started driving. She'd made a list of possibilities, and was working through them. Tonight, she was headed towards an industrial park two hours outside of the city. Tess didn't like for Cat to be awake all night, but some nights, sleep just wasn't going to happen. So she tried to put the time to good use.

* * *

Vincent was awakened by an alarm sounding, one he hadn't heard before. The startlement once would have triggered a change, but he had enough control now that it didn't. However, he could feel that his inner beast was much more restless than normal. There was no way he could stay in bed. He dressed quickly and followed the noises. It sounded like there had been an attack; they were searching for intruders. The base wasn't physically secured - he thought it had been an industrial park or something - so they were spreading out. Part of him thought he should stay away, all things considered, but his feet kept going.

He changed direction abruptly as the sound of a scuffle broke out behind him. In seconds he was behind a building, trying to make sense of what he saw. One of the guards was fighting a smaller opponent. Whoever the intruder was, he was good. Probably wouldn't last too much longer, though. He was distantly aware of another guard running towards the fight.

The combatants circled, moved, parried... and then the intruder was briefly illuminated by a street light. It was a woman, and she was losing the fight.

Everything in Vincent snapped to attention, and the beast took over. He felled the struggling guard with one swipe, then leaped around to face the second one, who had his gun out. The beast slashed at him, and he fell to the ground, as well, his gun lost in the night.

Vincent took a moment to catch his breath, trying desperately to revert to his normal appearance. There was a soft sound behind him and he whirled around to face the woman, hoping he didn't look as monstrous as he felt, hoping desperately that she wouldn't attack him next.

She looked at him and gasped. "Oh my god," she whispered, still trying to get her breath back. "I thought I'd never find you." She started coming towards him.

He held up his hands to ward her off, and stepped backwards while he still could. "Please, lady, don't come near me. I might hurt you. I don't know who you are or how you got here, but you need to leave, now."

Her face, finally, showed the fear that he had expected from the beginning. "What have they done to you?"

He moved to be sure her escape route was clear. His beast was under control for now, but he was struggling harder than Vincent had ever known, and he wasn't sure he could hold on. "You saw what they did! Why aren't you running?" He found himself angry with her, and took a step forward, trying now to scare her. "I can't control it; I'm going to change back to the monster soon. You saw what it does to people."

She glanced around at the bodies. "I know. It's okay."

"It's not okay! They were my fellow agents, and the monster just ripped them apart." He moved sideways, his beast fighting for control. "You're not even supposed to be here." He fought to stay lucid, while the beast in him moved closer to her, crouching down and circling her. "They're searching for you. Why aren't you running?"

She held out her hands towards his face. "Vincent, it's okay. Shh, it's okay." She moved, too, but not to run; she moved closer to him.

He was terrified for her, but he couldn't move away, couldn't keep his eyes off of her beautiful face. Her scent surrounded him, the sound of her heart beating fast in his ears. She filled his consciousness, blocking out everything else, and he could feel himself transforming. Vincent pulled fiercely on his newly-gained self control, even as he watched his own clawed hands reaching out towards her.

The crack of a gun startled them both, and Vincent lost control again as the beast fully took over.

* * *

Catherine watched as Vincent transformed, and for a moment, she was afraid. This Vincent was different, he didn't know her. What if…? Then he reached out and before she knew it she was being securely held against Vincent's body as the beast turned and ran. She couldn't tell where they were going, and kept her head tucked into his neck; at one point they jumped something high. There were gunshots at first, but they got further away and then stopped.

And still he was running, although not as quickly as before. It sounded like they were in a forest. She took a look around but saw very little in the darkness. He slowed to a walk, then, but kept going, not saying a word, not ever hesitating. Whatever changes they'd made, apparently his night vision was intact. But his memories, obviously, were not. He thought Muirfield was on his side, and that she was the enemy. She might have found him, but she hadn't gotten him back. Yet.

"Where are we going?"He grunted and kept walking. Okay, not verbal yet. She reached up to touch his face, and confirmed by touch that he was still lost in the beast state.

"Vincent, stop." She pushed at his arm. "Please put me down now."

His only response was to pull her closer, and she gave up the fight, too tired to protest anymore. Squirming around, she managed to pull out her burner phone, and sent a carefully-worded text to Tess and JT. "Got him. Sort of. Have to run, see you as soon as we can." She then turned it off, and put it away. She and Vincent were finally together, nothing else mattered, and it felt so good to be in his arms again.

She woke at the crack of wood breaking. She was being carried through a door, and deposited on a couch. The room was dark and smelled deserted.

The beast grunted, groaned, and slowly collapsed onto the rug. She watched as he reverted back to human; his eyes flickered open briefly, widening in dismay, then closed again as he slept, exhausted. She studied his beloved face for a moment. So maybe Vincent didn't know her. But it sure seemed like his beast did.

He must have carried her for hours. She looked around a little more and forced herself to sit up. On wobbly legs, she explored the room - and recognized it. She wasn't sure whether to cry or laugh, and hardly had the energy for either. This was the cabin where he'd brought Alex. Some part of him remembered some things, at least.

A short foray around assured her that no one else was there, so she returned to the main room. It was still dark out, and she was still tired. She went over to the couch and sat, pulling off her boots and her coat. The powered down phone could remain in the pocket, if it hadn't fallen out already. She didn't bother to check.

She grabbed the sofa blanket and covered Vincent with it, then lay down next to him, arranged the blanket to cover them both, and fell asleep behind him, one arm over his waist.

* * *

Vincent woke slowly, processing unfamiliar stimuli. There was a comforting rhythm in his ears. He was lying on his side, on a fairly hard surface. His back felt chilled, but his front was comfortably warm, and his arm was…

His eyes snapped open, and he stared in shock. It was the woman from last night, the one who'd invaded the base and had been fighting his fellow agents. He was curled up against her intimately and he flushed as he realized how very, very good that felt.

What had he done? He remembered struggling with his beast, fighting for control long enough for her to escape him, but he must have lost that battle. He loosened his arm, but she wordlessly protested, still asleep, and he stopped moving. He dreaded the scene when she woke up and realized where she was.

He glanced around at the room, noting the rustic look, and winced as he caught sight of the door, obviously broken. That must have been how the beast entered this place. He'd carried her, obviously. And then gone to sleep with her. What else might he have done? He shifted cautiously, raising his head to see her better. Her clothes seemed to be intact, from what he could see. There was a blanket, too; where could that have come from?

Now what? She'd definitely seen the beast. And he'd kidnapped her – she would be on the phone to the cops as soon as she could get away, and he wasn't going to stop her. He'd just have to call the base and hope they could send out a clean-up team that would get there before the local police would.

He needed to think about what to do next. But it was hard to think while looking at her, and impossible to stop looking. She was so beautiful. Dark hair, delicate features. He noted signs of fatigue, as well, which probably explained why she was sleeping so heavily despite lying next to a monster. She was petite, but last night in fighting the guards, she'd demonstrated strength and skill. He was grateful she hadn't tried to fight him. It was hard to remember clearly. She had seen him, at least half-changed, but had just talked to him, just as if he weren't a terrifying sight.

He didn't know her name. He didn't know where they were, or quite what had happened. All he knew was that he didn't want to let her go. He settled back down on the floor, relaxing beside her. He recognized now that the rhythm he'd been hearing was her heartbeat. It was steady, slow, and somehow very comforting. It occurred to him that for once, the aching loneliness had disappeared.

Of course, it wouldn't – couldn't – last . He closed his eyes, hoping that she would sleep for a few more hours, to prolong this feeling as much as possible before he'd have to give it up. Listening to her heartbeat, he felt astonishingly peaceful.

* * *

To be continued, shortly... quicker with good reviews, hint, hint!


	2. I Trust You

**Trust Issues**

**by ChiefPam**

* * *

_This is fanfic for Beauty & the Beast (2012). They own it, I don't, I'm just borrowing their toys. This is based loosely on spoilers for Season 2, and will no doubt be an alternate universe as soon as October 7__th__, 2013 gets here, but I needed the emotional fix._

_Previously: Vincent has lost his memory, and didn't recognize Catherine when she found him. He was terrified that he would hurt her, but ended up beasting out and taking off with her into the woods, instead. He took her to an empty cabin and they both fell asleep._

* * *

He didn't know her name. He didn't know where they were, or quite what had happened. All he knew was that he didn't want to let her go. He settled back down on the floor, relaxing beside her. He recognized now that the rhythm he'd been hearing was her heartbeat. It was steady, slow, and somehow very comforting. It occurred to him that for once, the aching loneliness had disappeared.

Of course, it wouldn't – couldn't – last . He closed his eyes, hoping that she would sleep for a few more hours, to prolong this feeling as much as possible before he'd have to give it up. Listening to her heartbeat, he felt astonishingly peaceful.

* * *

Catherine woke slowly, aware that she was being held tenderly. But unlike most mornings, the feeling didn't fade away, and the events of the previous night flooded back. She had found him. The feeling of joy was only slightly muted by his memory loss. On the other hand, he was here, and he was holding her just like he used to. Well, there weren't usually this many clothes in the way. But he was here; they could manage the rest.

She rolled onto her back, and saw him watching her warily. She smiled, which seemed to confuse him. "Good morning."

He pulled away from her quickly, sitting up with his back to the couch. With a sigh, she followed him, missing his warmth. His body was stiff with tension, and she could detect amber flickers in his eyes.

"I, uh... I'm sorry," he said, in that deliciously deep voice.

"I'm not."

He was shooting anxious little glances sideways towards her, not quite meeting her eyes, then looking away. "I don't know exactly what happened last night, and I hope to God I didn't hurt you."

"You didn't."

"And I don't know where we are. I know you must be scared…" his voice slowed as he processed her responses and finally looked up enough to meet her eyes. "Why aren't you scared?"

She smiled at him, wishing she could kiss him, but she didn't think he was ready for that yet. "It's okay, Vincent. I could never be scared of you."

He seemed fascinated. "Why not?"

"Because I know you would never hurt me."

"You know me?"

She nodded. "Better than you do, apparently. What did Muirfield do to you?"

"Uhh…"

"Yeah, silly question. You can't remember. Well, let me start with the important parts. I'm Catherine, and I love you. They took you away from me three months ago." She faltered, her emotions overwhelming her as she remembered that awful night. "I missed you so much." She moved closer to him, and he responded by gathering her into a sideways hug. She sagged against him, trying to keep her composure.

"Catherine," he said quietly, as if testing it out. "Catherine."

* * *

Vincent held her in his arms. He didn't ever remember holding her – or anyone – like this, but it felt precisely right. "Who am I?"

She took a deep breath, not moving from his side. "You're Vincent Keller. You were a doctor, then you enlisted, and then Muirfield started experimenting on you."

That seemed roughly to match what they'd told him. "When?"

"Ten years ago."

That shocked him. "Ten years? I've been with Muirfield for ten years?"

"No, you've spent most of ten years hiding from Muirfield. They only caught up with you a few months ago. Oh, Vincent, I was so scared that they'd killed you."

He tightened his arms around her, instinctively trying to give her comfort. "They've been taking care of me. Training. Some experiments. So… you know about the monster?"

Her head came up and she glared at him, eyes a little watery. "You are not a monster, Vincent. They did this to you without your consent, they captured you, and they must have been planning to use you – if anyone's a monster, they are. Not you."

"But, last night…" He hesitated, unsure how to phrase it. "I, uh, wasn't myself."

"Yes, you were," she insisted. "You didn't remember me, but I think your other side did."

"You mean, the beast?"

"If that's what you want to call him, yeah. When you changed, you did what you always do, which is protect me."

"Catherine, I…" He frowned trying to remember. "Last night. There was an alarm, I heard shouts. I went to check it out and found you fighting with one of the guards. And then another guard ran in. I should have helped them. They expected me to help them. I expected me to help them." He couldn't remember their names, but he knew their faces. "Then I saw one of them aiming a gun at you, and I … transformed. I didn't fight it. But the next thing I knew, both those guards were dead on the floor. The monster had attacked them. I killed them." He let go of her and stood, facing away from her. "I'm dangerous, Catherine. I can't control it. I can't be trusted around people."

"Yes and no," she replied softly.

"What does that mean?"

She moved into his field of view, her eyes impossibly full of love and concern – for him! "You didn't kill randomly, Vincent. You never do. Those men? They were threatening me. Your instinct was to protect me, so you… eliminated the threat. I'm sorry I made that necessary, because I know you feel guilty. But those men were not your friends. They were lying to you, using you, and they would have killed me without blinking."

He looked down, considering that. He didn't want to think that he'd been living with the enemy, and it occurred to him that he only had Catherine's word for that. He couldn't think of anything in particular to disprove it, but he just couldn't take it on trust, either. How could he have lived there for two months and not seen any signs?

She certainly seemed to know him, though. Her responses to the creature spoke of long familiarity between them, and even to his enhanced senses she didn't seem the least bit afraid. He didn't have many personal memories to help him judge. If she were telling the truth, then everything he thought he knew about his life was in doubt.

"You don't have to believe me, Vincent," she said, and he looked up to see a sad smile on her face. "We'll get your memory back. They messed with it before, but JT has something that helps you break through the blocks. But," she rallied, taking a deep breath. "First we have to get to him. And regardless, we really ought to be leaving now."

"Why?"

"Well, you know I said that some part of you was remembering things? You know this cabin. We've been here before. Briefly."

He looked around with new interest. "We were?"

"Long story, not especially pleasant. Point is, Muirfield tried to kill us not too far from here, so it may occur to them to look for us in this area."

"They really tried to kill me?"

"More than once, yeah," she confirmed grimly. "Kidnapped you, too. You did not join them of your own free will. God knows what else they did, these past few months."

"Then they won't stop trying."

"Probably not." She looked around. "It's not like we have anything to pack, but we should at least tidy up a few things."

That occupied a few minutes. He looked out a window to see that the sun was well up, and there were woods in all directions. Then he looked at the road and realized something. "We don't have a car."

She smiled. "True. But we just have to walk far enough to get a cell signal, then we can call for a ride."

"But... how did we get here?"

"You carried me. Not sure how long. I think I fell asleep for a while."

He looked at her in wonder. "A monster was carrying you into the woods, and you fell asleep?"

"You were carrying me," she corrected him. She shrugged. "I trust you. I did ask you to stop at one point but you weren't interested and I didn't push it. I guess you were focused on getting us here as quickly as possible. When we did get here, you set me down on the couch, and then sort of collapsed onto the rug. That's when you changed back."

"So if I put you on the couch…" He glanced at the rug where they'd slept, not sure how to phrase this question.

"How did I end up on the floor?" She smiled. "Vincent, I've been sleeping alone for months. I wasn't going to pass up that chance."

He smiled slowly. "You know, I think you've convinced me."

"What? How?"

"There is no way I would have voluntarily moved to a Muirfield base in the middle of nowhere if I had been sleeping with you on anything close to a regular basis."

She laughed, and he couldn't help himself; he reached for her waist, gently tugging her closer to him. She looked up at him and raised a hand to caress his cheek. He closed his eyes briefly to savor the touch, but he was impatient for more. He lowered his head and slowly, deliberately, thoroughly kissed her.

She kissed back, making frantic little noises as she stroked his neck and held him tightly. She pushed against him and he groaned as pleasure pulsed through every nerve ending he had. Then he was exploring her mouth, laving open-mouthed kisses on her as she gave back as good as she got.

Her scent changed, intoxicating him further at the evidence of her desire. His body responded, and his inner beast did too; they both wanted to get as close to her as possible. He didn't transform but he thought he might be close.

He dragged her lips from hers. "Catherine." She responded to the loss of his mouth by exploring his throat instead, and her hands were moving purposefully towards his waist. "Catherine, stop." She actually whimpered, a soft little sound of need denied, and it almost pushed him over the edge again.

He called on all his hard-won self-control and gently pushed her a few inches away. "Catherine, we can't do this."

Her eyes opened wide in dismay, searching his face. Then she smiled. "Trust me. We can."

"Damn, that's good to know. But we can't do anything here. We have to get going, remember? Cabin, woods, Muirfield?"

He watched the realization and disappointment wash across her face. She leaned her head forward to rest it on his chest, and their embrace changed, and lost intensity, becoming more of a hug. A very friendly hug. She sighed. "You're right."

He chuckled, still elated at the knowledge that not only was he not destined to be alone, he had a girlfriend who was anxious to, ah, reconnect to him. "Why do I have the feeling that I'm not going to hear that admission ever again?"

She stepped back, laughing up at him, her nose scrunching adorably. "Clearly, your memory is returning."

"Mmm, clearly." He leaned forward to snatch one more swift kiss, then moved away before they could become lost again. "Let's get going."

* * *

"It took that long before we got to our first kiss? Really?" He leaned against the end of a picnic table, enjoying the chance to relax with her. Her friends – their friends – were supposed to come pick them up soon-ish. Catherine had told them very little, since it was an unsecured line, but they were coming anyway.

Catherine grinned at him. "It was worth the wait. But hey, it was your first real relationship in a decade, and you had some unique circumstances."

He raised an eyebrow. "Unique circumstances? That's what you'd call it?"

She ignored him. "However, if it makes you feel any better, we did not wait nearly that long before we, ah, got to the sleeping together part."

"Oh, yeah, you mentioned something about that. You'll have to tell me all about it – later, when we're not in public."

Catherine glanced around the little picnic area where they were standing. "Well, nobody seems to be here…"

He looked around carefully, using all his abilities. "That's because nobody is here." He gently tugged on her arm to pull her close, until she was standing between his stretched-out legs. "Have I told you that I think you're amazing? I was there on the base, convinced I'd be forever alone, and then you came crashing in. Seriously, how did you find me?"

She smiled a little. "Same way you always find me. I never stopped looking. Vincent, I love you to distraction – and my life just isn't worth living without you."

He just studied her face, amazed at her all over again. That someone – let alone someone as wonderful as Catherine – could find him worth that amount of dedicated effort was still hard to take in. "I sure didn't have much of one without you, either. I knew I was missing … something. I just didn't know it was you."

"Well," she told him gravely, her eyes dancing, "Now you do."

"Yes. I do." He leaned forward far enough to kiss her gently.

The sound of an approaching car caught his attention. He could hear voices from inside it. A man asked "Is that them?"

A woman answered. "From this angle I can't quite tell."

"Are they kissing?" The man seemed grouchy, for some reason.

"Yeah." The woman was finding it amusing.

"That's them."

The car grew closer, and he pulled back just a little. Catherine turned to look, and sighed. "I guess we've been rescued."

"Don't sound so disappointed," he laughed.

Catherine stepped a little away from him as the car cruised to a stop. A tall Latina stepped out of the passenger seat and quickly crossed the ground between them to give Cat a hug. "Way to go, Cat!" As she stepped back from the hug she grinned at Vincent. "Good to see you again, big guy."

So, that must be Tess. Only a few paces behind was a slightly chubby man who could only be JT. "Vincent, you're okay! I can't believe it."

"Yeah, about that," Cat started, only to be cut off by her partner.

"Could you please explain your text? 'Got him. Sort of' was not terribly enlightening and it's been driving me nuts. It looks to me like you got him, period."

"Well, there was one small hitch. They messed with his memories again." She glanced at JT. "He doesn't remember much beyond the past two months. I don't know if it was on purpose or a side effect, but when I got to him last night, he didn't remember any of us."

"What, so you kidnapped him?" Tess suggested.

"Yeah, good luck with that," JT muttered.

Cat grinned at them, then turned to look at Vincent. He knew, theoretically, that these people were his friends, but it was disconcerting all the same. "Um, turns out at least part of me remembered her," Vincent said, a little uncomfortable with referring to his differences. "At least, that's her theory. All I know is, there was a fight, my adrenaline surged, and then the next thing I knew, we were two counties away and she was sleeping in my arms."

JT grinned.

"Just sleeping," Cat clarified.

Tess chuckled. "Kind of a shame."

"Well, let's just say, I'm in a hurry to get home."

"And speaking of which," JT said, checking something on his phone, "Can we have this discussion in the car? I have a class to teach in three hours."

* * *

To be continued... review, please :)


	3. Trusting Fully

**Trust Issues**

**by ChiefPam**

* * *

_This is fanfic for Beauty & the Beast (2012). They own it, I don't, I'm just borrowing their toys. This is based loosely on spoilers for Season 2, and will no doubt be an alternate universe as soon as October 7__th__, 2013 gets here, but I needed the emotional fix._

_Previously: Catherine has refreshed Vincent's memory, and they called Tess & JT to come pick them up. They were anxious to get back to Cat's place to reconnect._

* * *

JT dropped the other three off at Cat's apartment before heading off to teach. Catherine saw that Vincent was looking around, probably trying to assess if anything looked familiar. "No," she answered. "You didn't usually come through the door."

He raised an eyebrow at that, and she laughed. "I have a fire escape right outside my bedroom window. I always kept the window unlocked for you."

Tess chuckled. "Well, you know, I should really be going, so you two can… have some quality time."

Cat grinned. "You are the best friend, ever." She was having difficulty concentrating on much beyond getting Vincent all to herself, in her own apartment. From the heated looks he'd been giving her, his mind was moving in the same direction.

"Um, yeah, that'd be good," he agreed. "But come back later, okay? Dinner time? I want to talk to you and JT about something."

"Shouldn't be a problem. See ya."

Cat got her apartment door open, and reached out for Vincent's hand. "Come on in." He looked so darkly sexy and mysterious that she shivered happily. "You're all mine, now."

He followed her in. "I think I always was."

She just looked at him. "I love you so much." She reached up to kiss him, and they began a slow progress towards her bedroom, coats, shoes, and clothing being shed along the way. As they tumbled onto her bed, he pulled back for a second, eyes concerned, and pulsing amber. "Are you sure this is okay? I can't stand the thought of hurting you."

"You never have," she assured him, reaching up to caress his cheek. "And you've been getting better control of things, right? So don't worry."

He gazed down at her with such wonder and love in his eyes that she had to blink away a few tears. Then he settled down on top of her, began kissing her in earnest, and she lost track of the world completely.

* * *

JT and Tess came back over around time for dinner, and it became a celebration. There were still problems to deal with but, they could do that later, couldn't they? Catherine just wanted to enjoy a few more care-free hours. It had been an amazing day, being with Vincent constantly.

"Everybody done eating?" she asked, rising to remove the plates from the table.

"You don't need to do dishes now, do you?" Vincent smiled at her. "They're not important."

That sparked a memory, and she smirked at him. "That's what you think, Mr. Keller. It was a dirty dish that led me to you, in fact."

"This I've got to hear," he replied, and Tess and JT seemed equally confused.

"Tess, remember that first time we went to the warehouse? JT was doing a good job of pretending he didn't have a technically-dead roommate, but there were two dirty plates on the counter."

JT rolled his eyes. "All the precautions we took, and what gave us away was dirty dishes?"

"Well, it wasn't proof of anything," Cat replied, "But it bothered me. Which is why I came back the next morning, with a warrant."

"Yeah, I wondered why you executed that search without me. That bothered me."

"I didn't really have any idea what if anything I'd find, but I explored around, and found Vincent hiding upstairs. All because of a dirty dish."

He smiled slowly. "I may never do dishes again."

"No, no, it's okay, I've found you now. Twice."

"You're not getting out of it that easily, big guy," Tess chided. "If you're going to be sticking around, you'll have to help with the housework."

"Well, then, I guess I'll just have to man up and do dishes." He rose and helped her clear the table, sneaking a kiss in the kitchen.

"It figures." JT muttered quietly. "*Catherine* can get you to do dishes."

Vincent heard him easily from the other side of the room. "Catherine can get me to do almost anything, JT; you should know that by now."

"Why do you think I call her when I want you to do something?"

Vincent steered Catherine over to where the others were already sitting. "So, I need to talk to you guys about something."

Tess pulled a face. "That doesn't sound good."

* * *

Vincent considered how best to continue, looking at the friendly faces around him. These people were amazing and he never wanted to endanger them. He owed them... everything. "I've been trying to figure out Muirfield."

"What's to figure out?" JT demanded. "They're the bad guys. Did you not hear us earlier?"

"I heard, and I believe you. But the people on the base weren't like that." He'd been thinking about it, on and off, all day, and it still wasn't making sense. "I heard them talking about big changes they'd just gone through, and they were thinking of ways I could help. Don't you think it's possible they've changed?"

"No," they all said, nearly in unison.

"Look, you've told me about Muirfield, but you also told me that I had good instincts, and that I'm a good judge of character. You know I can tell if someone's lying, or afraid. And I'm telling you, I didn't get that back there. I know they kept me away from you, but think about it - you've, we've, gone to a lot of trouble to keep them from knowing about you. I must not have told them at first, and then I forgot."

Catherine shifted uneasily against him. "What are you suggesting?"

"I want to contact them."

"What? I just got you back!"

"I can call them. They won't know where I am. Or how much I know."

She frowned, and Tess shook her head. "Doesn't sound like a great idea, Vincent. If she lost you again, I don't think I could hold her together."

"She's not going to lose me," he promised softly. "Catherine, I am not going to disappear. I just want to make a phone call. You know how that dirty dish bugged you? This is bugging me. I have to figure it out."

She was still unconvinced, so he pulled out his hole card. "Catherine. You told me to trust you, and I do. You also told me to trust myself, my instincts. Now I'm asking you to trust me."

She paused for a few more long moments, staring at him, then her shoulders sagged. "Okay. I trust you. All of you. So if you think this is a good idea, then... you should do it."

"Thank you," he breathed, knowing how difficult this was for her. "I love you, Catherine. It's going to be okay."

* * *

"You sure this is the number?"

JT scowled at him. "Vincent, according to you, and Catherine, you were at the Pullen Industrial Park. They have only one tenant of record, and that is Ferguson Industries. This is their number. That's as close as I can get - they're not listed under 'evil lair comma Muirfield'."

"Okay, okay," Vincent held out a hand to ward off his friend's ire. It spoke a lot about their friendship that JT knew all about him, but wasn't scared to tick him off. "Thank you."

He dialed, aware that his friends and girlfriend were watching him; they'd promised to stay quiet to avoid giving away their identities and complicating the conversation. The phone rang once, then twice. Then a bored-sounding man picked up. "Ferguson Industries."

"Yeah. I need to talk to Shostak. This is Vincent Keller."

There was a sharp gasp on the other end of the line. "He'll be glad to hear from you - we were worried. You okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied warily. That was not how he'd expected that to go.

"Okay, putting you through."

There was a brief pause, then a familiar voice spoke. "Shostak here - Keller, is that really you?"

"Unless you know of some other escaped super-soldier."

"You're not escaped, you weren't a prisoner. You are, however, AWOL. Where the hell have you been?" The man sounded irritated, but not scared, which was interesting.

"Doing some investigating."

"You with that woman from last night?"

Vincent's eyes met Catherine's. "No. She got away, but I kept going. Did you figure out who she was?"

"Nobody's filed a criminal complaint yet, and the guards weren't able to give me a good description, low light and all."

"Oh yeah, the guards... sorry about that."

"Don't worry, you didn't kill them. Told you your control was improving."

Vincent breathed a sigh of relief at that news. "Good."

"Yeah, well, get yourself back here. We may have an assignment for you."

"Yeah, about that. Why should I trust you?"

Shostak took a long moment, then continued in a more cautious tone. "Damn. I told them this would backfire. You've found out something about your past, haven't you?"

"A few things."

"Then I'm sure you don't trust us." He sighed. "Hell, I wouldn't either, if I were you. I'm surprised you're even talking to me."

"What I've found out doesn't exactly match with my recent experience."

"Okay. So what do you want to know?"

"What changed?"

"Upper management. The previous psychopaths are in jail, and the organization is getting back to what it was supposed to be in the first place - an innovative way to protect this country. They screwed up. Some of us were appalled when it all came out."

"So how do I fit in?"

"You mean apart from the fact that you're a vet and we ruined your life? Vincent, the experiments they performed on you worked a lot better than they thought. You've survived this long without going crazy, and you were smart enough to hide for almost a decade. You've got amazing abilities, and this country could use those. We've talked about it, remember?"

"Is that why you erased my memory?"

"That was an accident, believe it or not. But my boss thought it'd be really useful. And it was. After that, we could treat you like a person, and you were a lot more cooperative."

"So now what?"

"Now..." He took a deep breath. "I'm going to try to talk you into working for us. You're Special Forces, Keller. You could be bloody useful in a lot of places. We're working with FBI, DHS, ATF, the whole alphabet soup."

"Black ops?"

"No. You'd be official. We've already done most of the paperwork; just need to get you in front of a judge to be legally alive again. And listen, they're willing to pay you. A lot. If I were you, I'd ask for millions. They'd probably be willing to go for that, because you're irreplaceable."

"That's ... hard to believe."

"Bottom line, we want you working with us. You're no good to us in a cage. And you could cause a lot of trouble for us, which would be a problem now that killing people isn't standard operating procedure anymore." He paused, but Vincent had no idea what to say to that.

"Think about it, Vincent. You could live anywhere you wanted - we wouldn't have to know where, even, just as long as we'd have a way to get in touch with you. There are a lot of options for assignments, your choice. Some of them have a lot of travel, some don't. Think about it, okay?"

"Yeah."

"If you have more questions, call me. Oh, and let me know where to send the legal forms so you can get yourself declared alive again."

"Okay," was all he could manage, and then Shostak hung up on him.

* * *

_To be continued... so what do you think, are they on the level?_


	4. Trust Yourself

**Trust Issues**

**by ChiefPam**

* * *

_This is fanfic for Beauty & the Beast (2012). They own it, I don't, I'm just borrowing their toys. This is based loosely on spoilers for Season 2, and will no doubt be an alternate universe as soon as October 7__th__, 2013 gets here, but I needed the emotional fix._

_Previously: Back in the city, Vincent is trying to figure out what Muirfield is up to, and has called the base where he'd been staying. _

* * *

Catherine stared at Vincent as he hung up the phone. There was a dazed look on his face. "Well?"

"They want to hire me."

"They what?"

"Full legal status, no more hiding, and a salary."

"And you're buying that?"

"I don't know. Shostak believed it, though."

That stunned her.

Tess waved a hand. "I know I haven't been nearly killed by Muirfield, so maybe my opinion doesn't count, but, Vincent's right; they had him for three months. They could have done anything. What did they do? Act friendly and give him training, help him control his wild side."

"What did they want you to do?" JT asked.

"They were talking about me infiltrating the mob, terror cells, etc. I could get a lot more information than the normal type of informant, and I'd be more able to extricate myself safely if things went sideways. Lots of possibilities."

"But to do that," Catherine said slowly, processing it, "they need you to willingly participate. Hence the suck-up."

"Guess so."

"I think we should all sleep on it," JT suggested. "V, I assume you're staying here?"

"Yes," Catherine answered immediately. "He is." Heather might be back later, but for once Cat didn't care. If she objected, Cat had no problem going code yellow on her, not now. But it probably wouldn't be an issue; Heather would be too glad to see Cat happy again to worry about the sketchiness of Vincent Zalansky.

The idea that he could be declared alive again, and be Vincent Keller all out in public, with no need to hide... that would be wonderful. But the more important part was that he stay in her life, openly or not. She was afraid to get her hopes up.

"Fine. I'm going home, then. Tess, you want a lift?"

Tess grinned. "Sure, TJ, that'd be great."

JT rolled his eyes. "Yeah, TJ left ten minutes ago, so I guess you're taking a cab."

She laughed. "Sorry, I couldn't help it."

They made their way out the door, still negotiating transportation, leaving Catherine alone with Vincent once more. She sighed, and walked into his arms. "I'll admit it would be nice if you didn't have to hide anymore. But while I trust you, I do not trust them."

"I know. Tell you what, tomorrow we can go back over there to collect your car from wherever you hid it, and I can do some spying on them. Find out what they're saying about me."

"Okay, that makes sense."

"Big day tomorrow, then," he said, starting to walk her backwards towards the bedroom.

She grinned. "Hmm, so you think we need to rest up?"

"Early to bed..." He kissed her, guiding her into her room.

"Sounds wonderful."

* * *

"Thanks for the ride, JT," Vincent said, feeling a little awkward now that Catherine wasn't with him. He missed her already.

"Hey, she had to work, I didn't, no big deal."

"It's just, you know, we didn't get to talk much yesterday, and I know I know you, but it doesn't feel like I do. And I don't think I can ever thank you enough for-"

"V, shut up, okay? We're friends, and, for the record, I know you'd do the same for me."

He hoped so. He'd learned so much in the past 24 hours; he felt like he was still catching up. Yesterday had been a huge emotional high - Catherine had been overwhelmingly, unbelievably wonderful - but today, things were more confusing. To suddenly have this amazing life - okay, a life in hiding, but with her. Add in good friends like Tess and JT and it seemed too good to be true.

"So, seriously, how are you handling this?" JT asked.

He half-shrugged. "Not quite sure, actually." Yesterday everything had been perfect. Today it was unreal. "I still don't really remember much. Being with Catherine... it's a dream come true. I guess I'm a little scared that I'll wake up and lose it. Lose her."

"V, trust me, that ain't happening. She moved heaven and earth for *months* to find you. I'm not sure you could lose her even if you were actively trying to."

"Yeah, I did kind of get that impression. I just don't understand it."

"Well, regaining your memory probably won't help you with that." JT smirked. "I don't think you've ever understood it. But she's as serious as a heart attack, my friend."

There didn't seem to be much to say to that. He looked out the window, not really seeing anything. Catherine was so amazing, and he was... well, it sure felt like he was in love. He hadn't even questioned it yesterday. But what did he really have to offer her? A life in hiding, always at risk.

And then there was the whole DNA problem. Muirfield seemed to think it was incurable. So even if they were on the level and they weren't hunting him anymore, the beast was always going to be there. And if he came out at the wrong moment... Vincent preferred not to think about what could happen.

He didn't remember anything about Catherine, really, but he responded to her so strongly. The depths of her trust in him staggered him. She knew everything - the good, the bad, and the beastly - and still wanted to be with him. In every possible way.

So if she was perfectly happy with their life in hiding, why was he even considering Muirfield's offer? It could be a trap. The work sounded as if it could be important, though, and he liked the idea of contributing to the world, using all his abilities to protect people.

The idea of a paycheck was seductive, too, although he wasn't quite sure why. He'd been doing okay without one, hadn't he? Maybe it was as simple as wanting to provide for her, in addition to protecting her. He wanted to give her everything. He wanted to be worthy of her love, and in some corner of his subconcious mind, that seemed to include having a job.

He realized that he was thinking long-term - like, eventually, maybe marriage - about a woman who, essentially, he'd only met the day before. How much did he really know about her? What if she was manipulating him, somehow, for some unknown reason. He felt crazy to doubt her, but the thought wouldn't go away.

"JT, you've known me a long time, right?"

"All my life. We grew up as neighbors, and were roommates after college, and then when you were on the run, you contacted me. I helped you hide for years."

"And you know Catherine?"

"Yeah, for over a year now. I didn't like her much at first - she was putting you at risk without even realizing it - but you were always crazy about her."

"So what do you think of her now?"

"She's the best thing that ever happened to you, bro," JT answered with quiet intensity. "Remember that, when you're trying to decide whether you can trust Muirfield, because whichever way you decide to go, she'll be going with you. And anything they do to you will affect her."

It was a sobering reminder. "She'll go with whatever I decide?"

"She may try to change your mind, but yeah. She's *with* you, period. She trusts your judgement, and your ability to protect her. And if you even try to break up with her for her own good, she *will* kick your ass."

That made Vincent chuckle.

"Not kidding," JT stated. "I know you, V. You've been sitting there thinking that she deserves better than you, that you can't offer her anything. Thing is, you don't need to. She just wants you."

"It's hard to believe."

"Yeah, you've always had a problem with that. But I owe her so I'm trying to get your head on straight here. Listen, after this little recon mission, we should take some time to try to get past your memory blocks, so you can remember her telling you all this. A thousand times."

"Maybe we can do it before she comes over."

"No way. It can be disorienting for you, and I want her there to keep you from freaking out."

"She can do that?"

"Don't ask me how, but yeah."

"Wow."

"Best thing that ever happened to you," JT reiterated, shooting him a frowning glance. "Do not screw this up."

"I will try not to," he answered sincerely, feeling a lot better, somehow.

So maybe he'd only met her yesterday, and still didn't know that much about her, but he was sure now that his instincts, his reactions, weren't lying to him. She really loved him. And he loved her, too. So much.

"Almost there," JT announced as he exited the highway.

"Okay." He sat up. He was facing maybe the biggest decision in his whole life - the riskiest one for him, and for her, too. He needed to concentrate on figuring out what Muirfield was up to. He still didn't really sense a threat from them - not anymore - but he needed evidence one way or the other before he could make that choice.

* * *

_Okay, so maybe it'll be more than four chapters, after all... had to add a few things based on comments. Thanks for all the reviews, btw - it's great to know people are enjoying my work. :) Less than a week to go now!_


	5. Time to Trust?

**Trust Issues**

**by ChiefPam**

_This is fanfic for Beauty & the Beast (2012). They own it, I don't, I'm just borrowing their toys. This is based loosely on spoilers for Season 2, and will no doubt be an alternate universe as soon as October 7th, 2013 gets here, but I needed the emotional fix._

_It's a longer part this time! Thanks for all the reviews, guys, you're making the story better._

_Previously: Vincent called the base, and Muirfield offered him a job. He and JT took a road trip to try to determine what they're up to._

* * *

"Why did they have to schedule this meeting today?" Cat muttered across her desk to her partner.

Tess shot her a quelling glance. "Because they didn't know you had a romantic road trip planned."

"It wasn't going to be romantic. Exactly. I just don't want to be apart from him right now, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. But duty called – besides, the big guy and JT can probably use the male bonding time. Can we focus on the case here?"

Because it was Tess, and Catherine owed her big time, she tried to focus. She even managed to get some work done, but then her phone rang. "Chandler."

"Hey, there, detective."

She smiled at the sound of that sexy voice. "Hey, hang on a second." Quickly, she found a vacant conference room and slipped inside. Tess followed, barely avoiding having a door slammed in her face. Cat mouthed a "sorry" at her then returned her attention to her phone call. "Okay, it's private. What's up?"

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but… I really think they're for real. I skulked around and listened for a while. The big boss was talking about getting my paperwork processed, and I caught him on the phone to someone trying to talk them into offering me more money."

Cat laughed. "Did it work?"

"Hmm, don't think so, but then he said they'd have to think of some other way to 'sweeten the pot' as he put it. The other guy said something I couldn't hear, and my guy sounded impressed. So maybe we'll find out what that was about when I call him tonight."

"Wow."

"Yeah. I'll be home in another hour or so – meet me at my place?"

Catherine looked at her watch. "Might take me a little longer – there's a mandatory meeting – but I'll be there."

"Great. See you later."

"So?" Tess demanded. "What did he find?"

Cat shrugged, tucking her phone away. "He thinks they're legit."

They left the conference room and headed back to their desks. "It would be kind of awesome if they were," Tess commented.

"Yeah. The sneaking around gets old after awhile."

"Tell me about it."

Catherine sat down, thinking hard. It sounded like a dream come true – if she could have Vincent *and* a quasi-normal life. He still had the cross-species DNA, and there would always be the risk that he'd change at an inconvenient moment, but that was all part of the package, and she'd accepted that a long time ago. It was Muirfield's angle that was worrying her. There had to be a catch, somewhere, but she couldn't see it. She realized she was back to where she'd started – Muirfield had taken Vincent alive because they wanted him alive. And cooperating, apparently. So they were willing to make it worth his while. Wow.

"Chandler!"

She looked up to see her new boss standing in the doorway to his office. "Sir?"

"Need to talk to you."

Tess threw her a questioning glance as she got up and walked into the office. She still was sometimes surprised that Joe wasn't there any more. He'd been such a fixture, even with all his complications. The new guy, Michael Reynolds, seemed competent but he wasn't very approachable, and she hadn't interacted with him much. Hopefully this wasn't about how distracted she'd been, the past few months.

He waved her to a seat but remained standing, starting to pace. "You've probably heard we'll be announcing a new inter-agency counter-terrorism task force. Well, its remit will be larger than just terrorism, but that's what we're calling it. We need a centralized response team to all kinds of threats. DHS and NYPD will be cooperating, with some assists from other agencies." He caught her eye for emphasis. "I want you running the cop side of things."

She blinked, not expecting that. "Sir?"

"Don't say no yet. You're good, Chandler, and you're uniquely qualified. I think you're ready to kick it up a notch. It'd be more paperwork, but hell, hire a secretary. You'd have a pretty free hand in running your side of things."

It sounded interesting, but might make her life much too complicated. "I don't know—"

"I want you running this, Chandler. You'd be working closely with the guy from Homeland Security. Interesting guy."

She wasn't sure where he was going with this. "Do I know him?"

Reynolds didn't exactly answer her. "He's a special forces guy. Until recently most everybody thought he'd been killed in Afghanistan, back in '02."

Catherine froze, looking down at her lap.

"Turns out, though, he's been working deep undercover with some secret group for the last decade."

Her heart started pounding. Could this be a coincidence?

"But he's ready to come back to the land of the living, so they're getting his paperwork straightened out. Get him all nice and legally alive again. He hasn't actually agreed to take the job yet, but he'd be a fool to pass up on the chance to get out of the shadows."

Catherine forgot to breathe. Reynolds seemed oblivious, pacing around, not paying attention to her. "They're going to set up a joint office for you. Semi-autonomous. He's got some pretty nifty skills, but you'll also want to build a team. There's going to be a good budget for it, too."

Abruptly, Reynolds turned to face her. "You in?"

"Uh, well, it sounds like a great opportunity."

"We need you to do this, Chandler. So what can we do to sweeten the pot?"

She blinked, and as she recognized the phrase she felt a little dizzy. There was no way this was a coincidence. How much did he know?

She kept her face straight with some difficulty, and rose. "I'll need to consider it."

"You do that. I think you and he would make a hell of a team."

"Really?"

"Just a feeling. And, to be clear…" Reynolds turned to pace, seeming uncomfortable all of a sudden. "If you did happen to hit it off, and you wanted to start dating, well, you wouldn't have to sneak around anymore."

Did he say "anymore"? There was a ringing in her ears, so it was hard to tell. "Excuse me?"

"No regs against cross, um, agency fraternization, is all I'm saying. None of my business. So, you go consult whoever you need to consult. Let me know in the morning. Dismissed."

"Sir, did you say—"

"I said you're dismissed, Chandler."

"Yes, sir." She shook her head at little, hoping to clear it, and then walked out still in a daze.

* * *

By the time she got to Vincent & JT's place, Catherine was starting to get past the panic stage. They still had a very important decision to make. She let herself in. "Vincent?"

"In here, Catherine. I just got off the phone with the base."

She walked in and nearly threw herself into his arms, feeling them enclose her, giving her a sorely-needed feeling of security. No matter what else changed, she had this.

"You okay?"

"I will be," she murmured, snuggling in closer. He just stood there for a long moment, gently rubbing her back, until she collected herself. "Okay, I'm okay."

"You will not believe what they just offered him," JT said with a laugh.

"I'll bet I will."

"He'd be working for Homeland Security, based out of New York, doing threat assessments and all kinds of cool stuff. And the salary is sweet. Not that I minded supporting you all these years, pal, but I'm ready for some payback."

"It sounds a little overwhelming to me," Vincent admitted, but he was clearly interested. "It'd be nice to have a job again. And they said that if I did lose control in public, they'd cover it up."

"Imagine being able to go to dinner and a movie."

He smiled shyly at her. "I'm imagining a white picket fence."

She smiled. "That sounds great."

"It would involve working with a couple of different agencies, though, and I'm not real comfortable working with people I don't know."

"Yeah, I think they know that," Catherine sighed. "Which is probably why they asked *me* to be your liason with NYPD and help head-up the Counter-Terrorism Taskforce."

The silence was thick for a moment, then JT managed to say "What?"

She shrugged, stepping away from Vincent. "This afternoon, my boss offered me a promotion to this task force, working really closely with this guy from Homeland Security. A guy who'd been presumed dead in Afghanistan in 2002, with some special skills - nobody mentioned your name, Vincent, but it had to be you. And my boss said I was 'uniquely qualified' for the position. And the kicker? He said if we wanted to date, that would be okay, and we wouldn't have to sneak around. Anymore."

"Damn."

"Oh, this is bad. Really bad."

"They might not know about you, JT. But I was there when Vincent was captured, so I guess I should have expected they might have figured out about me." She turned to Vincent and pulled a face. "Especially after I showed up on the base and you ran away with me."

"This could be really bad," Vincent agreed, slowly. "Or it could be good. At this point, what do we have to lose? They know a lot. And nobody's rappelling in with machine guns."

"Either we tell them we'll do it, or we run. And I would leave the rest of my life behind in a heartbeat if that was the only way to be with you, Vincent. Don't ever think otherwise. But it looks like we might have a chance, here."

"I honestly think this could work." Vincent reached out to gather her close again. "Maybe we should try trusting them."

"I don't like that idea, but I trust you. And we can always run later, I guess."

"Yeah. One thing, though." He smiled a little.

She managed a smile in return. "Yeah?"

"Your sister needs to get her own apartment."

"Oh, definitely."

* * *

"So if we're going for this, we're going to do it very carefully," Vincent said. "They can't know exactly what's going on with me and Catherine, so we should try to downplay things. We need to make sure they don't even suspect Tess and JT."

Catherine nodded. "Okay, tomorrow I'll tell my boss that I'm interested in that promotion he offered me. I don't think he'll suspect anything if I take Tess with me; we've been partners for years."

That surprised him. "You have?" The look on her face let him know that he should have known that. "Okay, JT, we have got to get my memory fixed before we make plans."

"Fine, you sit there and I'll get the lorazepam. Cat, stick close please."

"Absolutely." She pulled her chair a little closer to his and reached out to hold his hand.

"So what happens?" Vincent asked her.

"JT gives you a shot, you zone out a little bit, and then when you come to, you've got a bunch of new memories. At least that's how it worked last time."

JT came back into the room, sitting on the other side of Vincent and arranging some medical paraphenalia on the table. "What you're thinking about when you go under seems to be what you remember, so, I guess, think about Cat."

He smiled. "Not a problem at all."

"Okay, this'll sting a little."

"I've had shots before, JT, just do it."

"Right." Quickly and carefully, JT injected Vincent with the lorazepam cocktail. "Think about your history with Cat, about how you watched over her for years, in a totally not creepy non-stalkerish way."

Cat grinned. "He was protecting me; it was sweet."

"He's lucky you think so."

As the medicine started to affect him, Vincent felt himself drifting away, but had to agree with his friend. He was definitely lucky.

* * *

Catherine watched Vincent's face relax; his eyes closed and his head drooped sideways. She put a hand on his shoulder to keep him upright, but he didn't seem to need much help. A frown gathered on his face, and she saw different expressions flicker across his face. She almost wished she could pick which memories he regained and which ones stayed lost, but then again, as wonderful as this new Vincent was, she wanted the old one back. The one who'd lived those good and bad memories with her.

The one who might remember that he'd been practically cured until she'd brought the beast back with that vaccine. She didn't regret that decision - it had kept him alive - but she wasn't so sure what he'd think about it. He'd wanted for so long to be normal, had hated what they'd turned him into. He'd even wanted to take those damned poison pills, thinking a few normal years were worth dying early for.

He stirred restlessly, and she gently stroked his arm. "It's okay, Vincent, I'm here." After a few moments, his movements subsided and he looked more peaceful. The cycle repeated a few times, until eventually his eyes fluttered open. He looked around, seeming disoriented and still somewhat out of it. She touched his cheek, and he turned towards her, tipping his head into her hand, sighing softly. His eyes closed, then re-opened as he finally woke up.

"Are you guys okay? Did I...?"

Catherine laughed softly. "We're fine. Are you?"

He stretched, considering the matter, then smiled. "I'm okay if you're okay."

"Did you remember anything?"

His smile slipped. "Yeah, a lot. God, Catherine, when they took me..." He stood, and reached out for her.

She went into his arms with a little sob. "I've missed you, so much."

"I'm back, sweetheart; I'm right here."

JT cleared his throat. "Well, I think you two might have a lot to, ah, talk about. So I'm going out. For a while. We can talk about Muirfield tomorrow, okay?"

Vincent frowned. "Yeah, we'll need to do that. I just might need a little time to get all my memories straight."

"I'll help you," Catherine promised. "See you later, JT."

"Night!" JT grabbed his wallet and keys and made himself scarce.

Vincent kissed her hungrily, then pulled back enough to rasp out, "I love you, Catherine. Even without my memories, I loved you. Thank you for finding me."

"I had to," she whispered. "I can't live without you."

* * *

_To be continued, as soon as I can get twenty quiet minutes at a time to do some writing! This week has been insane. I've got about half of the next chapter written. Reviews are always appreciated :) _


	6. Trust Goes Both Ways

**Trust Issues**

**by ChiefPam**

_This is fanfic for Beauty & the Beast (2012). They own it, I don't, I'm just borrowing their toys. This is based loosely on spoilers for Season 2, and will no doubt be an alternate universe *tomorrow* (yippee!) but I needed the emotional fix._

_Previously: The Entity Formerly Known as Muirfield wants to put together a counter-terrorism task force, starring Vincent as "the guy from Homeland Security", who would be working with the NYPD, as represented by Catherine Chandler. Obviously they know or suspect *something* about Cat & Vincent's relationship, but how much? Also, JT helped Vincent recover his memories. So our fearsome foursome were trying to figure out how to react to the offers._

* * *

"Chandler!"

Cat heard her name called from across the room as soon as she entered the precinct. She looked over to see her boss scowling at her. "Be right there," she called, going by her desk long enough to drop her bag, then joined Reynolds in his office. She'd wanted to talk to him, but hadn't expected him to be this anxious about it. It was probably a good thing, considering the point she wanted to make.

"Good morning," she greeted him.

"Morning. So, are you in?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "The counter-terrorism taskforce? Yeah, you know, that sounds really interesting. I'm assuming that the promotion comes with a raise?"

"It'll be about a ten percent raise. Along with twenty percent more headaches, but that's life." He nodded, watching her curiously. "Glad you decided to go for it. Yesterday, you didn't seem too enthused."

"I didn't say I would go for it." She shrugged. "You took me by surprise. And then all that talk about dating the DHS guy... that was weird." She paused, then continued deliberately, "Could be considered sexual harassment."

He looked displeased. "Sorry."

"Yeah, well, the DHS guy had better not get any ideas." She frowned. "I'm a professional, not a perk."

Reynolds almost looked confused now. Good. "Of course. If he gives you any attitude, you let me know."

"Okay, if that's clear, then I guess I'm in."

"There are, ah, some things you need to know about him, if you're going to be working together."

"Like what?"

"Top secret things; I can't tell you yet because he's not officially on board yet, and so you don't need to know yet. But you will need to know. Once he's on board, I'll fill you in."

Cat raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Okay, if you say so. Oh, and I already know that I'm going to ask Vargas to join the team; she's been my partner for years." And it would probably do Tess good to get away from all the reminders of Joe.

"I thought you might. That's fine; I'll approve the transfer."

"Great. Anything else, or can I get back to work?" She moved slightly towards the door, doing her very best bored and busy cop face. "Just let me know when you want to brief me on this mysterious guy."

He stared at her looking faintly suspicious. "I'll do that. Dismissed."

Cat nodded and left his office, returning to her desk and her partner. "Tess, can I talk to you?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Let's grab a conference room."

"I think three is open."

"I've got an interesting offer for you."

Tess followed her into the conference room and carefully closed the door. "So?"

"I told him I'm in. But that the DHS guy had better not get any ideas."

Tess snickered. "It's okay, I hear he has a girlfriend already."

Cat grinned. Tess had joined the three of them for breakfast this morning, and was up to date on all fronts. "Well, I think I got Reynolds a little off balance, anyway, so that makes me feel better. You sure you want to come with us? You might be safer staying here."

"Cat, I'm your partner. If I stay here people are going to ask why. And if this does turn out to be a trap, you'll need me. Anyway, we can always fake a break-up later if we have to."

"Right. Well, I appreciate it."

"Hey, I didn't prop you up for three months in order to see you ditch me and go off to an exciting new job all by yourself."

Cat laughed. "Fair enough. Come along and see what your propping-up has made possible."

* * *

"Shostak."

"Hey, it's Vincent."

"Keller! Good to hear from you. Have you decided?"

Vincent paused. They'd discussed this over breakfast, the plan was in motion, and it was too late to change his mind, but it still wasn't easy to say. He swallowed. "Yeah. I'll do it."

"Excellent." Stostak sounded satisfied, though not surprised. "Thanks for taking the chance on us."

"Me, working for Muirfield. The world has clearly gone insane."

Shostak chuckled. "It'll be alright. So, practical stuff – we need to get you declared alive again; that'll only take a few minutes at a courthouse. They do have your fingerprints on file, don't they?"

Vincent grinned. "I'm pretty sure that they do, yeah." Otherwise, Catherine never would have found him.

"Good. So after we take care of that, we'll rush through a passport for you, for ID. Oh, and pay you for the past three months at the base. So you'll have cash on hand pretty quickly. Anything else you want us to do, let us know, okay?"

"Um, sure." This was a little overwhelming, but he'd manage. With a little help from his friends.

* * *

It was scarcely half an hour later when Reynolds called Cat into his office again. "Wanted to let you know that he's in. Have a seat. This is going to take some time."

"Okay, so what do I need to know?"

"I suppose I should start about twenty years ago…" Reynolds walked her through a basic history of Muirfield. In his telling, the scientists started out wanting to make people better, but got lost along the way. He covered the Afghanistan experiments accurately, as far as she could tell, and did not shy away from confessing Muirfield's decision to kill all the altered soldiers.

"That's… really appalling," she finally commented, when he ran down. "But what does it have to do with my new job?"

"Well, you see, they didn't quite kill all the soldiers. One survived, and they ended up training him."

Catherine tried to look confused, instead of pissed off that he'd skipped over ten years of hiding and attempted murders. "I thought you said they were uncontrollable."

"Most of them were, but this guy was the exception. Really quite remarkable control. When necessary, he actually transforms… well, let me show you." He drew out two pictures and tossed the first one across the desk. "This is how he normally looks."

She reached out to pull the picture closer; it was a candid shot of Vincent in an army-type setting, taken not too long ago. He'd been sitting on a cot, looking around impassively. Or at least others would see it that way; she could tell he'd been feeling lonely and her heart ached for him. "Okay."

"But when the adrenaline kicks in, he transforms, into… well, this."

The second picture came across the desk, and she cautiously reached for it. Again, the background was vaguely military, some sort of large room. Vincent seemed to be fully transformed, prowling around. She was dying to study him this way; she'd never had a picture to look at, and when he was transformed she'd always needed to focus on the crisis at hand. Which, really, was happening again now, all things considered.

She stiffened, eyes narrowing. "Wait, that… I've seen him before!"

Reynolds watched her closely, not showing any surprise. "Really. When?"

She grabbed the photo and pulled it closer. "A couple of months ago."

* * *

Across the street, Vincent kept watch on the precinct building. He'd seen Catherine enter her boss's office twenty minutes ago. He tried to focus, to overhear, but it was impossible with all the other conversations going on in and around the building. Tess kept glancing over at the closed office door, and once glanced out the window with a secretive smile. He knew she couldn't see him, but he appreciated the moral support. They'd come a long way since she'd shot him.

The office door opened, riveting both their attentions. Catherine walked across the floor to Tess, speaking a few words, then walked right to the window. She looked down at the street, away from him, but she was smiling and made a "thumbs up" gesture against her stomach, carefully shielded from the view of anyone other than him.

He relaxed slightly as she returned to her desk.

A few minutes later, Reynolds left his office, and then the building. Vincent followed. The man walked to the park and pulled out a phone. Vincent got as close as he dared without being seen, and tuned in.

He heard the ringing on the other end of the line until someone answered.

"Shostak. What's up?"

There it was; that was the link. Just as they'd suspected.

"Chandler is in, and didn't freak out at the picture. Says she's seen him before."

"I thought you said he knew her?"

"Yeah, I thought so, too, but according to her, they'd barely met before we grabbed him."

Vincent growled softly at the reminder but controlled himself. This might be working.

"Okay," Shostak said, "But she definitely saw the beast – he was all creatured out. What did she think about that?"

"Well, first time she saw him, he was busy saving her life, so she was inclined to think well of him. And then after the helicopter stunt, she says she felt sorry for him, that she owed him something. Said it turned into a project. She didn't say she found him on the base, but that must have been her."

"That's it? Damn. You believe her?"

"She was vague on the details, but maybe."

Good. Vincent was willing to try working with them, but he was not comfortable letting them know exactly how important Catherine and he were to each other. Not yet. They didn't need to be *that* vulnerable.

"You're too suspicious. Anyway, that's close enough for our purposes. They're both going for it, so the task force can be a reality – we'd have a much tougher time convincing any other cop to work with him."

"No kidding. They'll have fun recruiting their team." Reynolds sounded grimly amused. "Who wants to work for a boss who can literally tear you to pieces?"

"He could, but he won't," Shostak replied confidently. "And now we have Chandler to vouch for him."

"He'd better not hurt any of my people."

"He won't. I've studied Keller. He'll be a great asset. And I think I've got a job for him – for them – so let's hurry up and get this started."

"Fine. What's the job?"

"We've been hearing chatter about a terror group in Brooklyn…"

The conversation from there on was work-related and Vincent listened with only half an ear. What he'd just heard was reassuring. He'd keep spying on them from time to time, but at least Shostak seemed to be firmly on his side.

So, this really wasn't a trap. Or if it was, it was insanely complicated. Hard to believe, but… he could come out of the shadows, actually have a semi-normal life. If this continued to be on the level, if it started to look safe, then he and Catherine could start openly dating. If not, well, they would be ready to run.

Reynolds didn't fully trust them, and that went both ways; they didn't trust him much, either. But it looked like there'd be enough mutual trust and respect to allow them all to work together. That would do, for now.

* * *

The next morning, Catherine arrived at the restaurant for a getting-to-know-you brunch with Vincent and his boss. She looked around as she entered, spotting Vincent sitting to one side, obviously not too comfortable with being out in public yet. He didn't seem to be with anyone official, but just in case… she crossed the the hostess stand. "I'm here to join friends - Shostak, party of three?"

She checked her notes. "He's not here yet, but the other member of your party is right over there." Catherine looked where she pointed, and saw that Vincent had stood and was moving forward. She left the hostess station and met him halfway.

"Detective Chandler?" he asked, in a voice that was trying not to laugh. "I heard you asking about my boss."

She smiled. "Yeah. So then I guess … you're Vincent Keller." Despite herself, she couldn't help smirking just a little. "You look pretty good for a dead guy."

His eyes glinted. "Oh, I'm not dead anymore. Went in front of a judge this morning."

"Great."

"Keller!" An older man entered the room. He wasn't in uniform but his face and bearing screamed 'military'. "And you must be Detective Chandler. I'm Colonel George Shostak, Specialist Keller's commanding officer."

She held out a cool hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"And you," he replied, with a firm handshake. "I see you two have met."

"Yeah, you could say that," Vincent commented, deadpan.

Catherine looked down and choked back a laugh.

"Good, good. Let's eat, shall we? You two partners need to get better acquainted."

* * *

Epilog

The nights were the best. Their days were busy, settling into their new jobs. Tess was working with them, of course, and they'd talked about putting JT on retainer. The work was unpredictable, but overall, life was good.

The evenings were great. They had actual dates in public sometimes, and Vincent's control had not yet slipped. Still, more often, they stayed home, eating in, curling up on the couch, or hanging out on the fire escape for old times' sake.

But at night, when they were lying together in their bed, and there was no reason not to dream about a whole lifetime together... that was the best.

THE END

* * *

_A/N Thanks for reading! :) I hope this feels like a satisfactory ending; there's lots more I could do with it, and I might still, but with S2 starting tomorrow... but if there's anything you want to see me cover, well, let me know in a review!_

_Also! I am now on Twitter! ChiefPam. I'd appreciate a follower or two :) and I'll happily follow back._

_Thanks, Beasties!_


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